The 1991 firestorm that tore through the Oakland hills, killing 25 people and destroying more than 3,000 homes, left a lasting mark on those who lived through it.
More than three decades later, the memories of the fire still haunt the residents of the hills. And they haunt the city’s long-awaited Vegetation Management Plan, which was passed on May 21. It is Oakland’s blueprint for ensuring something like 1991 never happens again.
The plan is specifically designed to reduce the risk of wildfires on over 1,900 acres and 308 miles of city property and roadway in Oakland’s so-called “Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone.” It lays out several management techniques, among them goat grazing, tree felling, and the targeted use of herbicides.
Wildfire awareness and proper vegetation management are matters of urgent concern for Californians living in and around high-risk areas. In 2023, CalFire reported 7,127 wildfires in the state. This year, the department has already seen over 1,500 wildfires.
While the plan is largely supported, it will require sufficient funding to ensure it can be properly implemented. That money most likely will need to come from a special tax that is poised to appear on the November ballot.
Living on the edge of a wildfire zone
The Oakland hills are a prime example of a community at severe risk of a catastrophic fire. The hills sit on what is known as the wildland-urban interface, an area where the built environment meets the natural environment. As peoples and cities expand into nature, these interface areas become more and more vulnerable to a wildfire incident.
Sections of the hills are considered to be in “Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zones.” This determination is made by the state and is dependent on a variety of factors, including vegetation type, fire history, climate, and proximity to urban areas, among other factors.
If a wildfire were to catch and carry in the hills, the population density, vegetation level, and scale of the hills would make it particularly difficult to manage. Many residents would require evacuation.
Elizabeth Stage saw firsthand the devastation wrought on the area by the 1991 fire and has since become involved in efforts to mitigate wildfire risks. Today, she is the president of the Oakland Fire Safe Council, vice chair of the North Hills Community Association, and a community organizing committee member of the East Bay Hills Wildfire Prevention and Vegetation Management Joint Powers Agency Formation Committee.
“We are interested—like everyone else—in saving the lives of our families,” said Stage, who has been living in the Oakland hills for decades.
In 2013, the city made its first attempt at trying to bring in funding to address vegetation and wildlife concerns, through a special tax measure that was placed on the ballot. That ballot measure failed, in large part due to concerns over the city’s lack of a clear plan. This sparked the beginning of the work on the Vegetation Management Plan.
The first draft of the plan was released for public review in 2018. It went through several iterations, and community members like Stage gave intensive feedback every step of the way. While Stage said that there are still things that she and other community members “would like to see more of,” she is generally happy with the final version–a nearly 600-page document that she termed the best of all the drafts she has seen over the years.
But Stage and others in her organization recognize that there is one significant barrier to the plan’s implementation.
“The missing ingredient from all this is sources of funding,” said Stage.
The renewed proposal of a special tax would be a $99-a-year parcel tax on only those living in the “Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone.” The tax would allow for exceptions for low-income residents and seniors. It would need a two-thirds majority to pass.
“I think that the importance of the special tax really comes in to be able to fund this plan,” said Janani Ramachandran, councilmember for District 4, where many residents live in high-risk zones. “We’re slowly piecing together the funding that will actually, in my opinion, be able to enact a Vegetation Management Plan to its full effect”
The Oakland City Council will be voting in the coming weeks on whether to place the special tax on the November ballot. Hunt said the plan is not fully dependent on passing the tax measure. If it failed, the city would have to seek out additional and alternative sources of funding, including money from the city’s general fund as well as grants from the state.
‘It is certainly more than what we are doing now’
The Vegetation Management Plan lays out…
Read More: Oakland’s long-awaited Vegetation Management Plan tackles decades of wildfire